NIGHTMARE Season Over For Rockford Guilford Cheer Team

(1-28-17) The Rockford Guilford (Illinois) competitive cheer team’s nightmare season finally ended today at the Belvidere Sectionals. Dropping this year to the Medium School division, the Vikings came in last place in the 16-team field with a score of 45.36. That score is the lowest score registered in all of the Illinois Sectionals held across the state.

Medium – Aurora Rosary 49.83

Small – Chicago Disney 49.83

Medium – Thornridge 49.11

Small – Bloomington Cornerstone Christian Academy 48.53

Medium – Rockford Guilford 45.36

The Vikings trailed Crystal Lake Central, who won the Medium School division in Belvidere, by almost 50 points (94.4) and were behind the 15th place team, Harvard, by over 13 points (58.71).

The last place finish ends four consecutive seasons of the Vikings qualifying for the State Finals.

The nightmare for Guilford all started when a member of the Viking’s Cheer squad was in a horrible ATV accident, her year was done due to the injuries suffered and the long rehabilitation process ahead of her. Veteran Cheer Coach Shelli McGinley, Guilford parents and team members worked on a fund-raising project for Olivia to support her medical costs. Not a good way to start out a promising season.

This season McGinley was excited about moving to the coed division, she added eight boys to the team and the future looked promising. The most successful RPS 205 program over the years was moving forward and looked to be a top team in the area.

The nightmare was still not over, a JV cheerleader (a transfer student) and her disgruntled parents decided that their daughter had been mistreated by McGinley and her JV coach. This all took place before the first football game in August. It didn’t take long for the RPS 205 officials to decide to terminate McGinley. The reason, we don’t know why, school officials would not release that information. The School board would approve the termination without a discussion or meeting with McGinley, who had appealed the move and despite a petition with signatures, including parents of team members. To add to the nightmare the JV cheerleader, who was not happy in how she had been treated, left the school shortly after McGinley’s dismissal and no longer attends Guilford.

McGinley, as documented in the two stories below, started an All-Star team, Rockford’s Royal Family. In early January, in their first ever meet at Northern Illinois University, they scored a 93.67 and won the meet.

How did RRF do it? With numerous members of what could have been the Vikings competitive cheer team this year they won the first time out. All but two of the Viking cheerleaders left the Guilford squad after McGinley was terminated.

Today’s dismal score was thankfully the end of the season for Guilford, who in two other meets this season scored just 51 points in those outings. To add to the nightmare they skipped for the first time the NIC 10 meet which was held at Guilford’s gym.

In a situation, not caused by the student-athletes, but by the school administration, a new coach and kids not prepared for competition were sent out to compete.

How is it rude to tell a story that is based on fact?
Fact: Lowest scores in the state of Illinois
Fact: The jv kids did not have the talent to compete at a varsity level and it was apparent
Fact: whether you liked the old coaches or not they are winning and getting great scores with their new teams and always did great while at Guilford.
Fact: The school made a devastating decision to end a winning program
Fact: all of the kids with talent quit right after the coaches were let go
Fact: administrators used these poor jv kids as pawns and embarrassed them by putting out such a bad competition team
Fact: The cheer talent at Guilford is gone
Fact: The truth hurts

Oh that’s right. You are out to spread hate and lies and now look rather ignorant!

Frankly, I don’t care how you feel about ONE person that I know well but all coaches deserve respect. They are ALL selfless people who give their time and love to these teenagers whose own parents aren’t always doing the best job. Several parents are on drugs, drink too much, act childish, set examples that are so damning it’s no shock their children behave the way they do! A real telling story is how your children turn out. That shows the real person you are! Have any of you seen the success of the McGinley kids? They are all doing incredible things with their lives. This kind of negativity won’t touch that Family because they’re built on a strong formation.

Washed up,
My advice to you would be to think before you speak or write. It ruins your credibility when you accuse someone of something and then your own post does not have a reply option.

Shelly McGinley is personally tI’d to the author. She also wrote the petition turned into the school board & signed it “Guilford parents”. She let everyone think they were signing something a parent actually wrote.

Christina Gonzales Buyak, Jayden Downens mom, a football player and cheerleader at Guilford wrote the petition. Shelli McGinley had nothing to do with it. You are the same people who perpetrated the rumors and lies. The Author of the article writes several sports articles. In no way is Shelli the author of that or any other of their articles. Parents and adults like you should be ashamed of this behavior. It’s over and trying to blame anyone but yourselves for this nonsense continuing is absurd and childish. Stop! Start being role models and stop teaching your children that your behavior is ok!
It’s sickening.
Also, it’s over. Everyone else has moved on. Why keep beating a dead horse? Who will be your next victim when Guilford cheerleading isn’t very good next year?

Insider,
That’s an outright lie!
You’re either a child or a Cheer parent that’s embarrassed by this years cheer teams performance. She did not write this article AND
The petition says who wrote it and it was a varsity parent named Christina. You seem biter when you say things that are not true. Stop gossiping.
I’m in full support of Shelli and think this is annoying. I’d love to know what she did to you to make you say these lies? But I’m afraid to ask because you are not honest.
-A bitter mom who is tired of reading this junk!

I feel bad for the cheerleaders, how humiliating. Administration should be ashamed of how their selfish actions gutted the cheer program. Guilford Varsity Cheer had been such an amazing team in the years prior to this one.

I would like to speak to the contrary of this article. I think the amount of work the cheerleaders did during and after the events that transpired is amazing! They took pride and maturity in what they were and how they handled themselves!! There are many questions not answered during the termination of the coaches. The girls that stuck with it, showed heart, determination, and dedication. There were more than 2 girls that stayed on the team when the coaches left contrary to what the article indicates!! Credit should be given to those girls that decided to honor their commitment to the team and school and make lemonade out of the lemons they were served by the coaches and the situation. There are many rumors that flew around about why this happened. The question remains that if the coaches had/have the girls best interest in mind why would they allow an article of this nature to be published that is so cruel! That speaks volumes!!

100 % totally agree with your post!! Shame on you statelinesportsnetwork for posting such an article!! Statelinesportsnetwork is taking a one sided view in their constant adoration for ex coach Shelli. There are definitely two sides to this story!!! Kudos to the girls that stuck it out…they may not have won on the mat but their integrity and dedication to their school is something they can hold their heads high with! Get em next year GHS!!

I wanted to stay out of this but I have to say Shelli McGinley and her assistants were some of the best coaches in the state of Illinois. They have been recognized by the best of the best and single handedly took a non-existent cheer program at Guilford and made it great! McGinley has been voted coach of the year and coached several kids to greatness. Anyone who knows cheerleading knows this. Bash the school all you want but you cannot in good faith or with any knowledge say McGinley didn’t do a phenomenal job and pull talent out of a school with very little talent in this sport. Guilford cheerleading will never be the same. They will never see the ihsa state championships again and that is a fact. Time will show.

You know what else speaks volumes? Shelli has lost over 50% of her new team at this point and more are quitting….ppl have caught on to her games & are realizing that she misrepresented the reason she was fired from Guilford. She spun that jv chearleader story to get ppl to think she was victimized.

It’s not rude to the kids who stayed. They were dealt a bad deal. The administration at Guilford should have given them a year to regroup rather than send them out to try and save face. The previous coaches had nothing to do with what happened and the head coach released her formal personnel transcripts. There is rumors because people love to gossip. They worked hard and loved the kids. Guilford is at fault and it shows clearly by the outcome. The only kids that stayed were jv cheerleaders and two varsity because the school promised them if they stayed they could compete at the varsity level. That’s irresponsible and demeaning. Those kids weren’t ready for varsity competition level.

I would like to speak on behalf of the ex-coaches. They were the ones handed the wrong end of the stick here. Their proven track record and amazing accomplishments speak volumes. The article in no way suggests the student athletes were at fault. On the contrary, it states it was not their fault. They did the best they could with jv skilled athletes being pushed into a very competitive varsity level competition. They sustained several serious injuries being pushed to compete at a level they were not ready for. The school should have kept them as sideline cheerleaders only and gave sufficient time for qualified, certified coaches to come in and help rebuild a program. This is the issue. The school pushed too hard for normalcy and got bit in the end. Hats off to the students who stayed! Sadly, the results speak another story to the competency of the school’s athletic director and administrators. Guilford had built a name for themselves with the prior coaches who worked so hard for that school. These posts should be thanking them for their dedication and accomplishments. Rockford Oublic schools are a joke to the majority of our community is this is just another scar on their behalf.

The success the previous Guilford Cheer Teams achieved was from the hard work and dedication that the CHEERLEADERS put into their seasons. It was the cheer leaders out on the mats performing and their skills that got them to State….I didn’t see the judges scoring Shelli and the assistant coaches on the sidelines. Yes these coaches spent a great deal of time and were dedicated to their teams success…but when they boast (or statelinesportsnetwork does the boasting for them) and THEY take all the credit for a successful result, they really need to take a reality check and realize they have nothing without the talent of their team! Frankly I’m tired of hearing how great Shelli is…give the credit where credit is due…to the hardworking cheer girls past and present! (And by the way…the Windy City Challenge…two teams competing in their division…50/50 chance of getting 1st Place. Let’s not over glorify the results team Shelli achieved)

50/50 chance yes but the score they received is what’s impressive to anyone who knows the sport! A score of 93.67 is very impressive!! I think it shows a great coaching staff and hard working kids.
93.67 versus Guilfords score should make the people at Guilford realize they made a mistake. I’d love the chance to have Shelli coach my girls again. Anyone who knows her loves her coaching. I do agree that Guilford made a mistake but it isn’t the current cheerleaders fault. I do feel bad for them.

Shelli’s new team beat GHS by over 50 points!?! That should be glorified. THATS ONE HELL OF AN ACCOMPLISHMENT in such a short time. That’s almost unheard of in our sport!

Great job to Shelli & the ex coaches who were thrown away by a school and not given a proper or respectful thank you for making that school great with one sport. At Harlem we have always looked up to Guilford varsity cheer and Shelli. They WERE such a great team. The teams Shelli coached were known for being respectful and gracious. I can’t imagine anyone that really new Shelli or the cheerleaders would ever write something like this. It’s not indicative of the truth. Shelli & The Rockford’s Royal Family All star team were the first to congratulate us on our first state qualifying competition in our schools history recently and allowed us to use their gym to practice before state. Great coaches and awesome kids!

If you’re tired of hearing about Shelli then
why continue to bring her up?

It’s not appropriate for an adult to write an article criticizing a high-school team’s season and their brand-new coaches. None of these individuals had anything to do with the previous coaches’ dismissal. Also, where are your “facts” from?? They are generalized and unsubstantiated, which demonstrates poor judgement and journalistic integrity.

If you are so interested in local cheer, why not write about teams in our area doing great things–Belvidere North, Harlem, Lutheran, Byron, North Boone–rather than spend so much time and energy re-hashing a situation that is out of your hands?

This article does not bash the new coaches or the kids in any way shape or form. It raises awareness that a school’s administration cared more about trying to undo a big wrong they made at the expense of their student body. Sports are about winning and losing at times. The facts in this story are available to the public on the IHSA website. Nothing is made up or fictional. Do your research before you try to discredit an article. Everything written is a fact. Unfortunate yes, but true.

Great job to Shelly and the kids she coached over the years at our school. As a sports enthusiast I have to say if it were the kids and not the coaches why did they do so bad this year when the old coaches were gone? If any of the arguments on here were valid wouldn’t Guilford cheerleaders have done just as good if not better this year without Shelly and her coaches? Think people think.
Why did so many of our students leave here to go cheer somewhere else? By Shelly? Logic shows the coaches had everything to do with the succes. That’s like saying kids in my class passed their tests without my teaching being a benefit to that passing grade.
Shelly is definitely missed around here. The article may be harsh but it is a hard fact. Entitled kids and their parents are not good advocates here. Reality is harsh. Toughen up

I have to say parents these days do such an injustice to their kids by raising kids to feel they are entitled, deserve to play in a sport, confront coaches, cause issues, gossip to other parents about coaches, bad mouth coaches in front of their kids and worst of all try to blame coaches for their child’s lack of skill. I don’t know the former Guilford coaches but I do know they were an incredibly talented team. This year, not so much. I was shocked when I saw Guilford compete this season at how far they had fallen. It’s due to the removal of the coaches. A statement above says it’s the cheerleaders who should be praised and this person didn’t see the judges judging the coaches. This is the most ridiculous statement I’ve heard yet! The judges judge the team and the team performs only as good as their coaches taught them. Coaches are the reason the kids score high or low. The talent is brought out by the coach. As I saw written above, if it were the cheerleaders who deserve all the credit then why has Guilford fallen from grace, lost their good name, and scored so low? Those athletes should have won comps just like the last ten years with the other coaches. I understand the fact that it might be embarrassing to score 40-50 points lower than the previous teams at Guilford but bashing those coaches is childish and counter productive! If I were you I’d put the pressure on the athletic director to get a coach as good as the last one. I have heard no one qualified would take the position at Guilford because of how poorly they treated the former coaches. I know great coaches they tried to hire and the response given to guilfirds athletic director was there’s no way I’d coach there with the shit show you’ve caused at that school. Stop faulting the old coaches and focus on holding your school responsible or I do agree Guilford cheer will never be the same.

I was a jv cheereader and I stayed. It was the worst experience I ever had. The new coaches are not as good as nick shelli or aubyn. I quit after our first competition because the new coaches fought with us like kids and didn’t know cheerleading like our old coaches. They didn’t coach us but let a senior do it and change our routine all the time. we were not a family nymore and I won’t do cheerleading or any sport at Guilford because the teams are all bad now and so are the coaches.

If that’s true I’d like to know how you know that? Please show us or share with us so we can verify what you’re saying. If that is the case I don’t know if I’d have a problem with it necessarily but would like the truth about this situation.
Thank you 😊

What a great sport! I absolutely love watching my son compete at a sport he loves and I’m admittedly addicted to. My son is coached by Shelly McGinley and her daughter Aubyn McGinley and without a single doubt they’ve turned sour Lemons into a wonderful sweet brew of lemonade. It’s silly to fight on here and discredit the author of this article, who simply says it like it is! If you have any doubts about this article, or the new teams the former ghs coacbes started and coach at RRF feel free to come watch the teams in person. They will be competing at ISU on march 4th and in Schaumburg march 18-19. They will be competing on May 12 in Florida at Disney. This mom is very excited for all of this! Ghs did us a huge favor so for that, I thank you! Coaches if you happen to see these posts that are negative ignore them. It’s vert essy to tell as to who wrote the ones condemning you. This to shall pass. Negativity breeds just that and positivity shines on RRF!

The reason you can’t reply to certain posts is simply because those posts are replies. Let’s get the truth out there and stop all this. Rockford’s Royal Family is doing great! Yes some kids have quit but they had to. Some were removed, some quit. However, after only 6 kids left ( not 50% ) the team still took first place and received 3 championship bids. That’s fact and you can look it up. I’m very happy with the coaching at Rockford’s Royal Family and will not let my son do any sport and an RPS205 school. They’ve done far too many mistakes with all sports district wide. Our football coach quit and many coaches were let go for no reason other than gossip like these threads! You naysayers should be looking into the fact that over 12 great coaches were let go for “unfair and unjust” reasons and have a class act lawsuit in place. The mayor is even backing them. Let’s come together as parents and spread positivity and light to our community. Even if your of the opinion that you don’t care for Shelli or the former coaches why would you do exactly what you’re accusing them of on here??
-Mind boggled

How come the post from “Washed up” doesn’t have a reply? Is that supposedly Shelli or the old coach(es) too?

My assessment is some of these posts have to be written by kids. The grammar and spelling is horrendous. Using acronyms like SMH I would assume no adult would write.

I know the coaches haven’t seen all of this and that’s a blessing because no matter what your personal opinions are on a subject you can certainly find better things to spend time on. The truth is Shelli McGinley is battling a terrible, life threatening, health issue. She’s been in and out of hospitals in Rockford and Wisconsin with a malignant
( cancerous for those that don’t know ) tumor. She will undergo chemotherapy and radiation after surgery. There is a big fight ahead of her and her family. I can’t imagine any of them having to read some of the nonsense on here. If you’re an adult find the maturity and empathy to stop the comments. You are entitled to your opinions but out of respect to the McGinley family, keep them to yourselves in case they do see this. If you’re a child, talk to someone about your feelings. Find someone you trust but learn what’s bothering you that makes you lash out.

I like the post that said it’s over.
It truly is over.
What kind of people just keep this going? Take a long hard look into yourselves and ask yourself if this is really important with all the actual problems we face. Be respectful to a family that is hoping to have a life saved and not how you perceive her coaching to be. Thank you to her supporters of n here. I know it would mean a lot to her right now.

Here’s to my friend, Shelli!! That she may have God holding her each step of the way through her journey and that she never has to read these terrible comments.

Think before you post and ask yourself if what you’re writing is positive and leads towards positive solutions or if you’re just being a nuisance with no compassion. Grudges only hurt you!

I heard the football coach was fired too at Guilford! They give coaches the option of being fired or saying they’re stepping down. He chose to say he walked away because he works at the school and didn’t want the backlash. The cheerleading coaches didn’t take that option stating they did nothing wrong so the head coach wasn’t stepping down. Otherwise she could’ve left saying she quit.
These posts are too personal and trying to bash one sport and one set of coaches which I agree are kids or kids’ not so mature parents writing them. We should be looking at the district and their treatment of its employees. Coaches, paras, lunch aides, bus drivers. They’re making steps to pad their own pockets at the expense of our kids and the community we all live in! Put your time towards a good cause. This junk is plain stupid.
The district is ultimately at fault for all the chaos that’s taken place! Interesting that the Guilford principal was let go too. Let’s talk about that.